As a proposal for an edition of one-of-a-kind volumes (itself a paradox) The Abra Codex exists at the intersection of the fine-press limited edition and the democratic multiple-two strands of the artist’s book tradition. In this way, a new, open edition is made possible-one in which no two copies will be alike-and the artists’ book, plural because of its three collaborators, becomes an artist’s book, singular as the work of its new maker. This kit, The Abra Codex, provides readers with the source files to print, bind, and decorate their own copy of the Abra artists’ book, using whatever tools they have at their disposal. A page-by-page traversal of Abra: A Living Text encompassing both the handmade book and iOS app. The limited edition artist’s book Abra: A Living Text, produced by Amy Rabas at the Center for Book and Paper Arts in 2015.įigure 2. In both its print and digital forms, Abra takes advantage of the affordances of its materiality to animate the text and invite readers to caress it with their fingers.įigure 1.
Abra: A Living Text is more than a book-a collaboration between Amaranth Borsuk, Kate Durbin, and Ian Hatcher, it consists of a limited-edition handmade volume and a freely available iOS app, which can be read separately or together to create a continuous touch-screen experience from the surface of the page to the surface of an iPad or iPhone. The codex is modeled on Abra: A Living Text, a born-digital artists’ book produced in 2015 through an NEA-funded Expanded Artists’ Books grant from the Center for Book and Paper Arts. The Abra Codex is a template for generating a one-of-a-kind artist’s book. Amaranth Borsuk, University of Washington, Bothell